Japan disaster zone 'apocalyptic', say Welsh firefighters

WELSH firefighters recently returned from their rescue mission to Japan have described the disaster zone as “apocalyptic”.

WELSH firefighters recently returned from their rescue mission to Japan have described the disaster zone as “apocalyptic”.

Officers from the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service spoke of the “undescribable devastation” they had witnessed.

And they said the harsh reality of recovering bodies was made all the more poignant by the gratitude of the Japanese people.

Seven firefighters from the service were part of a team of 59 British experts who helped with the rescue effort that followed a massive earthquake and tsunami.

They spent a week in the areas of Ofunato and Kamaishi in northern Japan hunting for survivors after a direct appeal for help from the Japanese authorities.

Steve Davies, deputy team leader of the search and rescue team, said the disaster was like unlike anything he had ever seen before.

“It was almost like a film set. You just cannot imagine the scale of the devastation there,” he said yesterday at the service’s Carmarthen headquarters.

“People have used the word ‘apocalyptic’ and this is in no way a throwaway comment.

“Localised devastation means that communities, entire towns and villages, have been completely wiped off the map.”

He said there was no doubt that tens of thousands had died in the tragedy said the stoicism of the people was a credit to their nation.

“We have come away with an inordinate amount of respect for the Japanese,” he said.

“They gave us an incredible welcome and were very grateful for the work we were doing and they made that clear at every opportunity.

“Our hearts went out to them. So many had lost everything, absolutely everything – there homes, their families, their whole way of life and yet they remained respectful and supportive of others around them.”

One of the most poignant moments for the officers, he said, was coming across an elderly Japanese firefighter who feared for the loss of four family members.

“He told us he hadn’t been able to access his home but feared for their lives,” said Mr Davies.

“Properties were rammed with debris and timber and everything you can think of.

“We located all four members of his family but unfortunately they were all deceased. He was so grateful. It was heartbreaking.”

Mr Davies said the rescue team’s main role was search and rescue but due to the nature of the damage the role became more one of locating bodies.

“The amount of bodies we saw wasn’t as high as we were expecting, due to the early warning system they have there for tsunamis there,” said Mr Davies.

“For that reason alone I would say the casualties will be tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.”

Charlie Taylor, a crew manager from Neath, who had also been deployed to Haiti in January 2010 following the earthquake there, said Japan was like nothing he had seen before.

“Haiti was dealing with an earthquake and there were still people alive to be rescued. In Japan the tsunami had caused total destruction,” he said.

“Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. It’s hard to believe that it was worse than it looked on the television.”

Paul Dyson, who is stationed at Pembroke Dock, also contrasted the rescue to Haiti.

“The whole infrastructure was busy in Haiti and there were lots of people and casualties to deal with. In Japan it was the opposite it, it was deadly quiet,” he said.

He described the heart-wrenching moment he heard faint music playing from the rubble.

“I thought there may have been someone there. I was sifting through the rubble but it turned out to be one of those birthday cards that played Happy Birthday over and over,” he said.

“Not far from there I met a teenager who was looking for his nine-year-old brother, he had a broken leg and they feared he had not escaped. He pointed to where he was last seen and it was where I had been searching. It was an incredibly haunting experience.”

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